Sport

Stage set for intense battle in ILT20 play-offs

Published

10 months ago

February 13, 2024

The stage is set for an exhilarating and intense battle in the DP World ILT20 season 2 play-offs between the teams that clinched the top four slots, starting from Tuesday.

The league stage matches were so fiercely fought that the final four could not be ascertained until the last league match held in Sharjah on Sunday.

All 30 league-stage matches produced the best of cricket with many last over and last ball finishes including a last ball-six smashed by Sikandar Raza that put Dubai Capitals in a commanding position to make the final four ahead of Sharjah Warriors and Desert Vipers who finished at the bottom of the points table.

Cricket buffs in UAE can gear up for an exciting week of action as the top four teams prepare to produce some nail-biting contests starting with the Eliminator on 13 February (Tuesday) between Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Dubai Capitals at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, followed by the Qualifier 1 between MI Emirates and Gulf Giants to be played at the Dubai International Stadium on 14 February (Wednesday).

Qualifier 2, between the winner of the Eliminator and the loser of Qualifier 1, will be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 15 February (Thursday) while the grand finale will be held at the Dubai’s ‘Ring of Fire’ Stadium on 17 February.

The intensity of the upcoming clashes can be gauged by the fact that except for MI Emirates, who notched up 12 points from six wins, all the other teams had hit the rock bottom of the table and then fought back to qualify for the play-offs. Defending champions Gulf Giants finished second on the points table with 12 points while Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Dubai Capitals placed third and fourth respectively with 10 points each.

The DP World ILT20, with a total prize money of $1.3 million, will see the winners walk away with a whopping $700,000 while the runners-up receive $300,000.

The contest for the players who produced their best is also being keenly fought. The best batter with most runs will receive the Green Belt and the bowler with most wickets will win the White Belt while the most valuable player will be awarded the Red Belt.

The contest for the Blue Belt for the best UAE player also has many contenders in this edition. All the belt winners will receive $15,000 each.

In the first edition, Alex Hales won the Green Belt, Chris Jordan bagged both White and Red Belt and Muhammad Waseem had won the Blue Belt.

All Player of the Match winners as well as the Biggest Six of the Match receive $1500 each.

The large turnout for all the matches of this edition reflected the increasing following for this tournament. Cricket lovers are in for a treat over the next few days, and they will look forward to whether Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will be able to ride to victory or whether Dubai Capitals, by capitalizing on their skills, will pull off a victory in the Eliminator.

Qualifier 1 will see whether last year’s winners Gulf Giants can produce their best and walk tall over MI Emirates, which has played brilliant cricket so far in this edition.

MI Emirates skipper Kieron Pollard, who has the ammunition to hit big runs, said: “Winning is a habit and so is losing. Going forward we need to try and plan well. It is a matter of planning and execution.”

Gulf Giants skipper James Vince, who has shown the way through big scores, and is happy with the way his players have risen to the challenge, remarked: “Our last four games have been magnificent. The last two games, we were in the game and when our opponents were ahead in the game, we showed a lot of character to fight back.”

Vince will want his players to display their same fighting spirit in the play-offs.

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders skipper Sunil Narine, after a win, had said about how he goes about to win matches: “We tick a lot of boxes. Start with picking up wickets in the powerplay, and that sets the tone

Sam Billings, skipper of the Dubai Capitals, enters the playoffs, fully aware of his team’s drawbacks and strengths. After his team’s last match, he'd said: “If you look at this tournament, it is about trends. The key area where we have struggled is the powerplay. As regards our bowling, everyone wants the ball and that is always a positive.”

Sport

Zimbabwe’s opening ODI against Afghanistan abandoned

Afghanistan won the toss and put the hosts into bat but it took four hours before any play was possible, with the game by then reduced to a 28 overs per side.

Published

12 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Ariana News

Heavy rain led to the abandonment of the first one day international between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.

Afghanistan won the toss and put the hosts into bat but it took four hours before any play was possible, with the game by then reduced to a 28 overs per side.

Azmatullah Omarzai took 4-18 in 4.2 overs as the visitors made good inroads to have Zimbabwe 44-5 in the 10th over before the rain returned and ended hope of further play.

The second of the three match ODI series will be played at the same venue on Thursday.

Sport

Lanka T10: All three matches abandoned due to rain

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2024

Ariana News

Relentless rain on Monday resulted in all three Lanka T10 Super League matches being abandoned without a ball bowled at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

All teams except for the Jaffna Titans had been anxiously waiting to play their remaining matches of the league round in order to qualify for a place in the second stage of the inaugural event.

The matches that were affected were Nuwara Eliya Kings v Galle Marvels; Hambantota Bangla Tigers v Colombo Jaguars; and Jaffna Titans v Kandy Bolts.

All six teams grabbed a point each from the results which meant that Jaffna Titans, Hambantota Bangla Tigers, and Galle Marvels have qualified for the second stage of the tournament.

Prior to Monday, however, Jaffna had already clinched their spot to play in Qualifier 1. They head the standings with 10 points winning four of their six matches with two No Results.

Following Monday’s result Hambantota finished second with seven points to join Jaffna in Qualifier 1.

Galle also had the same number of points (7), but on the net run rate had to be content with the third spot, which meant that they will play in the Eliminator.

Who will play Galle is the big question here for three teams with four points each in the running – Colombo, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya.

The three matches scheduled for Tuesday will decide the fate of the remaining three sides.

Weather permitting, the matches scheduled are: Colombo Jaguars v Jaffna Titans; Kandy Bolts v Nuwara Eliya Kings; and Galle Marvels v Hambantota Bangla Tigers.

Currently, Colombo, with a better net run rate, are placed fourth, with Kandy and Nuwara Eliya in fifth and sixth places respectively.

The knockout games are scheduled for Wednesday, December 18, with the final on Thursday, December 19.

Matches, depending on the weather, will be broadcast live on Ariana Television from 2:30 pm Tuesday.

Sport

ATN once again seals deal to broadcast upcoming IPL across Afghanistan

Next year’s event will kick off on March 14 and run through to May 25. That’s just over 10 weeks of exhilarating cricket.

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2024

Ariana News

Ariana Television and Radio Network (ATN) has once again secured the rights to broadcast another thrilling Indian Premier League (IPL) live and exclusively in Afghanistan.

That’s right, fans will once again be treated by Ariana Television to all the thrills, spills and unforgettable IPL moments in the comfort of their own homes.

Next year’s event will kick off on March 14 and run through to May 25. That’s just over 10 weeks of exhilarating cricket.

While we know the event will run from March 14, the complete IPL 2025 schedule, including dates for knockout matches, and the final, is yet to be announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Next year’s tournament, like in the past, will see ten teams competing in 74 matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders are the defending champions, having won their third title in the 2024 edition after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.

The teams are:

– Chennai Super Kings
– Delhi Capitals
– Gujarat Titans
– Kolkata Knight Riders (defending champions)
– Lucknow SuperGiants
– Mumbai Indians
– Punjab Kings
– Rajasthan Royals
– Royal Challengers Bangalore
– Sunrisers Hyderabad

IPL 2025 sees some exciting team changes, reshuffled lineups, and strategic player acquisitions.

For instance, Rishabh Pant broke the auction record on day one of the two-day IPL Auction in Jeddah when Lucknow Super Giants got the star wicket keeper for a whopping $3.20 million.

Punjab Kings in turn snapped up Shreyas Iyer for $3.17 million.

The IPL Auction also saw one cricketer becoming the youngest ever to be sold on auction.

Indian’s 13-year-old cricketer Vaibhav Suryavanshi, from the eastern Indian state of Bihar, went to the Rajasthan Royals for $130,500 after coming into the auction at a base price of $35,591.

Seven Afghan players were snapped up for next year’s season, including Rashid Khan who was retained by Gujarat Titans for $2.1 million.

Karim Janat will make his debut at the IPL and was picked up by Gujarat Titans for just over $88,000; Noor Ahmad Lakanwal was signed by Chennai Super Kings for $1.18 million; Azmatullah Omarzai was sold to Punjab Kings for $284,000; Rahmanullah Gurbaz was resigned by Kolkata Knight Riders for over $236,000; Fazalhaq Farooqi went to Rajasthan Royals for $236,000 USD; and 18-year-old young spinner Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar was signed by Mumbai Indians for $568,000.

While match details have not yet been announced, cricket fans across the country can watch this space and follow Ariana Television’s social media platforms for news and information ahead of the tournament.

ATN to broadcast exciting 2025 ICC Champions Trophy live in Afghanistan